35 posts categorized "Food and Drink"

March 19, 2011

The way you prepare your food can be just as important as what food you eat. Is there any point in eating broccoli, for example, if you cook the life out of its natural carcinogen killers? On the other hand, some foods, such as tomatoes, may offer more benefits when they're cooked.

Fortunately, nutrition experts know a few tricks to help you get the most nutrients out of your food.

At the end of Dayna Macy's insightful new book "Ravenous," we learn how the lifelong food lover--and overeater--has lost over 25 pounds and three sizes.

But the more striking image is of Macy standing in an orchard with her family, eating a ripe orange plucked straight from a tree. After a year of traveling across the country to better understand her complicated relationship with food, Macy finally found peace in one of life's simple pleasures.

"Weight can be gained or lost," she wrote. "Our judgments about our bodies are much harder to lose."

As a food writer, Macy had a deep love for tasty morsels, including chocolate, sausage, cheese and olives. And as a longtime yogi, she knew the benefits of a daily practice. But over the years, Macy steadily gained weight.

At 48, her twin boys were nine years old and she'd been with her husband, Scott, for 20 years. She was a size 18.

March 03, 2011

But can they protect our brain and memory, melt fat and prevent urinary tract infections?

Though emerging research is juicy, scientists know less about a berry's health benefits than you might think.

In general, berries are naturally high in antioxidants — compounds that may slow cancer growth. The darker the berry, the greater its phytochemical content and the more likely its reputed health benefits. But this doesn't necessarily mean eating them will stave off cancer or other chronic diseases, said Jeffrey Blumberg, director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at Tufts University.

A variety of factors come into play, including "how many berries are being consumed, over what period of time, and in the context of one's dietary pattern and other risk factors for disease," he said.

February 01, 2011

Just for fun, New York University nutrition professor Marion Nestle has been tracking the food industry's reaction to the new 2010 dietary guidelines, released Monday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Agriculture Department, which call on Americans to eat less, cut down on salt, bulk up on fruits and vegetables and choose water instead of sugary soft drinks.

In today's post on her blog Food Politics, she writes that the soy people love them; the meat people not so much. "They are a little worried that seafood is pushed more than meat, but the American Meat Institute is giving it a nice spin, pointing out that the overall meat recommendation has not changed since 2005," she wrote.

January 24, 2011

Children with food allergies often learn to say "no" when they're offered tempting cupcakes or cookies that may trigger rashes, wheezing or land them in the emergency room. And they grow used to bringing their own treats to class celebrations or birthday parties.

But the necessary precautions can leave them feeling alienated, said "Food Allergy Mama" Kelly Rudnicki, who transformed her family's diet after her oldest son, John, was diagnosed with a severe dairy, egg, peanut, tree nut and legume allergy and asthma.

"Most children want to be like any other kid, to not feel different," said Rudnicki, who blogs at foodallergymama.com to raise awareness and increase funding for food allergy research. "That's why treats are so important; it's a chance for them to feel included."

An estimated 6 percent of children have a food allergy, or a reaction triggered by the immune system. The vast majority of food allergies are caused by eight foods: tree nuts, peanuts, milk, eggs, soy, wheat, fish and shellfish. But children can also suffer from food intolerance or sensitivity, when food triggers unpleasant symptoms but the immune system isn't involved.

The signs can include reactions such as a runny nose, hives, a chronic cough or life-threatening breathing issues. Though dairy and nuts are the most common triggers, some parents deal with multiple allergens, which makes buying prepackaged food nearly impossible.

Fortunately, several books offer appealing dessert options for children with special diets. If your child doesn't have a food allergy, consider making allergy-free treats for a class party or Valentine's Day celebration; that way the child with the allergy will feel like one of the group.

Gluten-free baking can be frustrating because gluten is the protein that holds the dough together. The beauty of Ryberg's approach is that she mimics glutinous cookies by embracing everyday ingredients. Most of the cookies use brown rice flour or sorghum; no complicated rice blends are required. Ryberg, author of several gluten-free cookbooks, also offers egg- and dairy-free cookies and recipes with single flours.

Rudnicki targets three of the most common food allergens — nuts, egg and dairy — and offers advice on how to deal with classroom festivities and birthday parties. For class celebrations, Rudnicki suggests decorating her sugar cookies with allergen-safe icing and sprinkles. "The cookies double as a cookie-decorating activity," she said. For birthday parties, vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting are her go-to dessert because "kids never suspect they're allergen-free," she said.

What do you do when your 4-year-old child is allergic to wheat, eggs, dairy, soy, corn and nuts? The authors, who both raised children with multiple food allergies, have compiled more than 100 recipes for sweets that can be slipped into lunchboxes or served at holiday dinners. The book also has recipes for those who must limit sugar intake or avoid gluten.

Last month CSPI sent a letter to Ben & Jerry's parent company, Unilever, complaining that at least 48 products were improperly labeled.

Ben & Jerry's, which also promotes its use of rBGH-free milk, cage-free eggs and fair trade, told CSPI it was making the change so consumers wouldn’t be confused.

Critics say the term "natural," the most common label claim on new food and beverage products launched last year, is one of the most misleading words on the market.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has no formal rules about the term; consequently, many products containing high fructose corn syrup (which the industry is lobbying to call “corn sugar”) are labeled as "natural.” Though glucose and fructose occur in nature, the chemical conversion of cornstarch (used to make high fructose corn syrup) should not be considered natural, CSPI wrote in a 158-page report titled "Food Labeling Chaos.”

"Natural" also has a health halo, meaning consumers may think a “natural” product is healthier than it is.

The lemon-lime soda Sierra Mist, for example will now be marketed as "New Sierra Mist Natural" because it "has been stripped of everything unnatural" according to the company. It’s free of preservatives, artificial colors and caffeine (though caffeine is naturally occurring), the company boasts. The new ad campaign calls it “the soda nature would drink if nature drank soda."

Yet Sierra Mist Natural is still a soft drink. It contains 100 calories and 25 grams of sugar per 8-ounce serving. A regular 8-ounce Pepsi contains 100 calories and 28 grams of sugar.

August 11, 2010

After an X-ray showed a spot on Ron Sveden’s windpipe, Boston doctors thought the 75-year-old retired teacher was suffering from a cancerous tumor.

In fact, the culprit was a pea that had sprouted in his windpipe, Colneth Smiley Jr. reported in the Boston Herald. When they removed the plant, his health improved. I'm currently tracking down an expert to explain how this could have happened.

“Doctors don't have the training to do it, but chefs and cooks do,” said La Puma, a professionally trained chef who writes about food as medicine in his book Chef MD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine.

When I asked what he'll be telling his audience, he sent me the following five tips:

1. Stay positive. "There’s no need to tear others' food down, no matter how artery-clogging it may be, just because you have a better idea," he wrote in an e-mail. "Instead, serve a healthful, real-food-recipe at your next party or Sunday dinner."

2. Be a connector. People expect it. "Healthful eaters are the new silent majority. Connect people who are health conscious with your blog, your Facebook posts, your Linkedin profiles, your Myspace music, your Youtube videos, your church social. Post about a great vegetable you found at the grocery store (e.g. snap peas), a website with great food links (epicurious.com), or a Smartphone app (AUG) to help you find good green food."3. Be retro. "Didn't we used to use the rim of the plate for decoration instead of more food? For that matter, didn't we used to use plates, instead of microwaveable plastic? Each of these 'new ideas' has roots in the past. Use them."4. Discover your food-related passion. "Is it flavor, child obesity, back pain treatment, organics, longevity, or something else? Then take that passion and reach out to people who are feeling it too. Bring something new to the church social, talk to the hospital CEO about better meals for sick people or work an hour a month at the local food bank. Online, tweet about what you're doing and actively link up. People who are interested will find you, and when they do, they'll follow you. Passion itself is inspiring and transformational. It gives energy, instead of saps it."5. Prepare for a little discomfort. Change isn't easy. Be ready to accept criticism. "Try standing up in front of strangers, being willing to be known for something you believe in, or doing every-day things new ways."

January 21, 2010

Cereal companies aggressively market the least nutritious products to children, as I reported in "Sugary cereals sweet-talk kids." But you can make wiser purchases by trying the following strategies:

Watch the sugar. Look for cereals with less than 10 grams of sugar per serving and beware of code names such as honey, cane juice and high-fructose corn syrup. It helps to know that 4 grams of sugar equal 1 teaspoon.

Call it "dessert." It's best to think of kids' cereals as non-fat cookies," says NYU nutrition professor Marion Nestle. "Is that what kids really should be eating for anything other than dessert?"

Less is usually more. Look for a cereal with very few ingredients and at least 5 grams of fiber per serving. Fiber is what gives cereal its staying power. If your cereal tastes like air, you'll probably eat more of it.

Visualize. Pour a single serving of cereal -- generally 3/4 cup -- into a measuring cup. If you routinely eat more than this, remember it means additional calories, sugar and sodium.

Mix it up. Combine low-sugar cereal with a familiar, pre-sweetened brand, then gradually reduce the amount of the sugary kind. Or add dried or fresh fruit to low-sugar cereal.

Don't assume. Children will eat healthier cereals if they aren't tempted with presweetened options, research from Yale University has found. Even when kids were allowed to add sugar to a healthy cereal, they consumed less sugar than they would with a sweetened cereal

January 05, 2010

Like every other diet program out there, Keri Glassman's antioxidant-based "O2 Diet" promises to make you thin and beautiful. And it's easy: Just eat foods that have high antioxidant levels.

Antioxidants are compounds that prevent free radicals from damaging the cells of your body. This type of damage, also called oxidative stress, can accumulate and eventually lead to the development of several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as age-related conditions, such as macular degeneration, said antioxidant researcher Diane McKay.

To rank the foods, Glassman used something called the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) scale, which was developed in the early 1990s and refined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The ORAC scale is one of several methods used to measure how well a food protects against disease-causing free radicals.